After 19 days of street protests that have paralysed the Himalayan Kingdom, a contrite King Gyanendra made a last attempt to avert further bloodshed and save his throne.

Following hours of intense mediation efforts by Nepalese politicians and foreign diplomats, the monarch made a surprise statement late last night.

Looking tense and grey, the King apologised to his subjects for the deaths of 14 demonstrators and gave in to the key demand of the seven-party alliance opposed to his rule.

“We, through this proclamation, reinstate the house of representatives which was dissolved on May 22, 2002,” said Gyanendra in a five-minute statement read on national television just before midnight.

The speech was intended to head-off what was widely expected to be the largest street protest yet, with perhaps a million demonstrators from across the political spectrum due to swamp the streets of Kathmandu today and use people power to strip the King of his authority.

Last night the ruler’s eleventh-hour gesture to save his throne appeared to have worked. Kathmandu reverberated to the sound of celebratory cheers minutes after the King’s speech was aired. People spilled on to the streets chanting “long live democracy” and “this is a people’s victory”.

Senior opposition figures welcomed his offer and said that today’s massive protest, to be led by two former prime ministers, would now probably be postponed or turned into a victory rally. An official announcement is expected today.

Nepal’s largest opposition party welcomed the speech. Gyanendra “has addressed the spirit of the people’s movement” and met the demands of the main opposition seven-party alliance, said Ram Chandra Poudel, general secretary of the Nepali Congress.

“It is the victory of the people’s movement,” said Arjun Narsingh KC, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress, the country’s largest political party.

But there was no immediate word from the Maoist rebels, who have waged a ten-year insurgency against the monarchy and late last year entered a loose alliance with the parties.

Nor did the King explicitly promise a review of the constitution to curb his sweeping powers. A US State Department official gave the proclamation a guarded welcome, saying Washington wanted the King to give up the power to be able to dissolve parliament again. “What’s important is not only that power be restored and handed over to political parties but that some commitments be made that would prevent a repeat of the events of 2005,” the official told reporters. Allowing parliament to reconvene is nonethless a very significant concession from Gyanendra, who seized absolute power saying that he needed to bring order to the country’s chaotic political situation and crush the Maoist insurgency.

If parliament is allowed to reconvene on Friday, it could call new elections for an assembly to prepare a new constitution. In turn that could end the bloody insurgency between government security forces and Maoist rebels, who may be lured into mainstream politics.

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